April 4, 2008	Published by Dianna Huff	Volume 8, Number 7

Welcome!

Thank you to everyone who sent in your stories last month about how technology has changed how you work in the last 10 years. One of those stories came from Suzi Dow. It was such a trip down memory lane, and she told it so well, that I'm reprinting the entire story for this issue. Suzi, and her husband Fred, manage a terrific Website -- the U.S. National Forest Campground Guide -- and have made it their life mission to visit every campground and national forest in the U.S. In fact, they'll complete their quest this summer when they visit the two national forests in Alaska. (Full disclosure -- Suzi and Fred had me write their press release.)

Thanks, Suzi, for your great story. I'll feature the remaining stories in future issues as I continue to celebrate my 10 years in business. If you have a story, please send it to me. (Next issue I'll feature your car stories!)

Regards,

Dianna Huff

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How Technology Has Changed Our Business

By Suzi Dow

Our product is the U.S. National Forest Campground Guide website. When we started this effort most people thought Websites were the corners of the room where spiders hung out.

Back in those early days, with our fulltime recreation vehicle lifestyles, communication via the Internet was such a joy -- not!

While on the road, we would hunt down a payphone (campgrounds hadn't yet started to install modems) in order to attempt establishing a "connection" because we had an interview scheduled with a publication or something equally pressing. This was done with help from something called an acoustic coupler, a device strapped to the payphone's headset and plugged into our laptop.

I would stand next to the payphone booth, holding the laptop (looking, I'm sure, like some misplace bathroom attendant offering up a clean towel), praying that an 18-wheeler truck would not pass by and cause the ground to tremble -- and breaking our connection -- while Fred did whatever was necessary to get the laptop, payphone, and Internet to speak to each other.

This technique was flakey at best and often completely frustrating. (Never got it to work in Georgia or the Carolinas.)

Cell phones and WIFI make our job somewhat easier!

With the growing use of modems at private campgrounds, communications got better until today we celebrate with cell phone and WIFI. Of course, these technologies aren't trouble free.

Since we spend a good bit of time in the national forests, among the trees and mountains, line-of-sight is an important component of successful communication for us. We have been known to stand in the middle of a dam, climb to the top of a peak, and drive miles to a bend in the road for the possibility of a connection.

Things are a little better in cities and towns since sometimes the community library will provide a means of connecting. (We've also discovered some chain restaurants that offer WIFI.) If not, we will drive all over with me pointing our handi-dandy "hot-spot" spy device at homes and businesses with the hope of finding someplace to "piggy-back" our signal.

We also rely on GPS and POD

In some ways the most important technological advances for us have been GPS (Global Positioning System) and print-on-demand (POD). I read a map pretty well but sometimes, okay more than sometimes, it is apparent the map maker has never been to the location.

With our GPS unit, connected to our ever present laptop, we're able to safely and efficiently navigate any stretch of paved road. (FYI: I can remember when GPS was a military classified technology.)

With the advent of POD technology, we've been able to publish our U.S. National Forest Campground Guides at an affordable price. Established publishers, such as Falcon and Random House, rejected us because we had "too much" information.

Technology has come a long way -- and it certainly has made it easier to be fulltime RVers! Thank you letting me share my story.

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Thank you, Suzi! You can follow Fred and Suzi's Alaska trip via their Camping with Suzi blog.

Overcome the "What Will We Write About?" Blog Hurdle: Develop a Beat

In last month's teleclass with Ted Demopoulos, we talked about developing and maintaining a blog. As Ted stated, before you start a blog, you really need to plan what you're going to write about.

Developing content does indeed take time, but it helps if you develop a "beat" in much the same way a reporter has a beat or niche industry / news focus he or she covers.

In this blog post from my MarCom Writer blog, I list the various methods for developing a beat.

What can Dianna Huff do for you?

My goal is to make your job easier -- and to help you succeed with your marketing projects and campaigns.

• Want your site to rank well in Google through search engine optimization (SEO) copywriting?
• Responsible for a B2B e-newsletter and need help getting it out the door?
• Need a complete Website overhaul and don't know where to begin?

If you answered yes, then give me a call at 603-382-8093 or send e-mail to info@dhcommunications.com. I can help you.

Or, take a look at my B2B marketing communications copywriting and SEO services to see how you can put my award-winning expertise to work for you.

Contact DH Communications

Telephone: 603-382-8093
Email: info@dhcommunications.com

Keep up with the latest MarCom news at The MarCom Writer Blog.